Lebanon’s PM visits Syria’s interim president to discuss border, prisoners, refugees
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
“My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness,” Salam said in a statement on X.
At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.
The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.
During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.
The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley and Syria’s Qusair region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the........
© The Times of Israel
